Church of St John the Baptist, Pawlett
Encyclopedia
The Church of St John the Baptist in Pawlett
, Somerset
, England dates from the 12th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The Norman
church of St John the Baptist
replaced an earlier Saxon
structure and the church is thought to have been a popular station on medieval pilgrimages from Watchet
to Glastonbury
. The south doorway arch features three bands of decoration: lozenges, zigzags, and a biting beasts motif on the outer ring. The baptismal font
appears to be made from two separate fonts, the bottom part an inverted Saxon font topped with an upright plain Norman font.
The rood screen is 15th-century. The 20th-century north window shows Christ
blessing children who are in modern dress and holding a teddy bear and toy boat. Other unusual features include pew boxes that still retain hat pegs, reflecting a time when congregants wore hats to church. The chancel includes wide communion rails on three sides, thought to have been used for seated communion. Unusual and ancient features of the church in part owe their preservation to major renovations made in 1779. That "modernization" seems to have slaked the zeal for Victorian-era updates which eliminated such features in many other churches in the area. The crumbling of the church's blue lias stone led to its exterior being coated with cement.
Pawlett, Somerset
Pawlett is a small village north of Bridgwater, in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset.The village has Roman or Saxon origins...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England dates from the 12th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
The Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church of St John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
replaced an earlier Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
structure and the church is thought to have been a popular station on medieval pilgrimages from Watchet
Watchet
Watchet is a harbour town and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, with an approximate population of 4,400. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The parish includes the hamlet of Beggearn Huish...
to Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
. The south doorway arch features three bands of decoration: lozenges, zigzags, and a biting beasts motif on the outer ring. The baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
appears to be made from two separate fonts, the bottom part an inverted Saxon font topped with an upright plain Norman font.
The rood screen is 15th-century. The 20th-century north window shows Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
blessing children who are in modern dress and holding a teddy bear and toy boat. Other unusual features include pew boxes that still retain hat pegs, reflecting a time when congregants wore hats to church. The chancel includes wide communion rails on three sides, thought to have been used for seated communion. Unusual and ancient features of the church in part owe their preservation to major renovations made in 1779. That "modernization" seems to have slaked the zeal for Victorian-era updates which eliminated such features in many other churches in the area. The crumbling of the church's blue lias stone led to its exterior being coated with cement.